The Origins of Bradford City

By David Pendleton

Chapter 10: The Final Season of Rugby Union

1894-95

What would turn out to be Manningham’s last season as a Rugby Union side commenced with a friendly at Ulverston on 1 September. Interest in the Paraders was high. A special cheap half-day return train was laid on from the Midland Station (Forster Square), which ensued that a large following saw Manningham win 7-3.

The defence of the Yorkshire Senior Championship got underway the following Saturday with a narrow 8-7 defeat at Huddersfield. Manningham were soon into their stride with victories over Dewsbury and Batley in which the opponents failed to register a single point.

Events off the field would dominate the season. Several Lancashire clubs were suspended by the English Rugby Union for ‘professionalism’. Leigh were one of the first and their case attracted much sympathy in the northern media. The Union’s refusal to reinstate former Manningham player W.I. Fawcett, merely entrenched opinions. Fawcett had been Manningham captain between 1885-88. When he emigrated to Manitoba in 1890 to become a cattle farmer, friends at Valley Parade gave him £29 as a leaving present. He had hoped that the move would be permanent. However, when he returned to Bradford four years later, the gift of a few pounds classed him as a professional in the eyes of the Rugby Union and he was banned for life. It was a ludicrous decision, especially as it was generally accepted that more or less every club paid players in diverse ways. One favourite ruse was installing players as landlords in public houses conveniently close to their home grounds. The brewers were delighted with the increase in trade a popular footballer would bring, while the player - in all probability completely ignorant of the licensing trade - welcomed the wages and freedom to train and play in mid-week matches.

The first Bradford derby of the season took place at Park Avenue on 6 October. 15,000 fans saw Bradford exact a 4-0 revenge for their defeats the previous season. A series of victories from thereon saw Manningham reach second place in the league. Once again all eyes were on events off the field when Salford became the latest Lancashire team to be suspended as the Rugby Union began rupture along north-south lines.

Manningham had a break from the travails of the league and Union politics when they embarked on a pleasant break to Paris. Tickets advertised at £3 18s 6d were snapped up by eager fans. A party of 145 left the Midland Station at 2.35pm on Saturday 1 December. Two additional dining cars, a Pullman and two saloon cars were added to the London express. Dinner was partaken en route to the Capital, which was reached at 7.25pm. Buses took the trippers across to Victoria station, where they boarded a train to Dover. The Channel came in sight at 10.50pm and the last steamer of the day was boarded for Calais. They eventually arrived, somewhat bleary eyed, into Paris at 5.38am the following morning.

After a snooze at the hotel the team met Stade Francais at Comberon Velodrome. Both teams had the relative novelty of being photographed prior to kick off. Despite their marathon journey Manningham ran out easy winners 27-0.

The following day the party visited Versailles and on the Tuesday wandered around the principal sites of Paris. The long haul home commenced at 9pm on Wednesday, after a full day in London, the trippers arrived back in Bradford at 6.30am Friday.

Amazingly, the Paraders managed a 3-3 draw at Batley the following day! With Manningham still in second place, fixtures were suspended for a lengthy period in January as a severe frost set in. As the debate over professionalism rumbled on, Manningham committee member Antonio Fattorini was part of a deputation dispatched Yorkshire to meet their Lancashire counterparts to discuss the setting up of a Northern Rugby League.

Illustrating the forces at work behind the move, Manningham player ‘Donny’ Donaldson became manager of the Carlisle Hotels billiard room. What Donaldson knew about billiards is lost in the mists of time, but having a Manningham and Yorkshire player on the premises will have undoubtedly given a major boost to the pubs trade.

At last the frost relented. On 22 January the top two of the Yorkshire Senior Competition - Liversedge and Manningham - collided in what was billed as the title decider. Over 2,000 Manningham fans made the trip to Liversedge. The Bradford Daily Telegraph lamented ‘Liversedge’s public house accommodation is not nearly sufficient to adequately meet the demands of a crowd like the one which gathered for the match’. A sober gathering saw Manningham lose 3-6 and it seemed that the title was bound for Liversedge.

The weather refused to release its grip on Valley Parade. The pitch was almost a continuous sheet of ice and the Bradford derby had to be switched to Park Avenue. Even there the pitch had to be covered in salt and sand and then rolled. Despite the appalling conditions, 16,000 packed the ground to see Manningham win comfortably 17-6. Suddenly, the title race was back on, Manningham were a mere two points adrift of Liversedge. Brighouse were defeated at Valley Parade to keep the pressure on. However, on 9 March Manningham visited Wakefield Trinity minus captain Alf Barraclough and the darling of the Valley Parade crowds George Lorimer. Both were away on England duty – though in the event both were reserves. As they watched England as mere spectators, Manningham lost 14-3 and once again the title seemed out of reach. However, the following week victory at Huddersfield put Manningham level with Liversedge, though crucially the Paraders had played more games.

The Yorkshire Challenge Cup interrupted the league when it got underway on 16 March. Manningham sailed through to the quarter-finals with a series of easy victories against lessor clubs. Castleford were seen off in the quarters after a replay. Old foes Brighouse were the only obstacle between the Paraders and the final. The semi-final took place at Huddersfield in front of 10,000 fans. Manningham wore black badges as a mark of respect to club official Albert Heron who had passed away in the week. Once again they badly missed the inspiration of George Lorimer and went down to a shock 5-0 defeat.

On April 22 Liversedge won the Yorkshire Senior Competition, beating Wakefield Trinity in a rearranged game. The following day Manningham defeated Dewsbury 16-3 at Valley Parade, but it was a hollow victory as they were condemned to second place. The final table finished thus:

The annual Manningham Football Club Athletic Festival - for many years ranked the best in the country - raised dampened spirits. Held at Valley Parade on 25 May, it attracted athletes from all over the country. Perhaps the most anticipated race was the ‘Members Race’. Confined to the playing staff, they had to race 220 yards in full football attire - boots excepted. First prize was a black marble clock, valued at £4 4s. Second was a case of cutlery. Third a brown cow hide travelling bag. T. Wilkinson beat George Lorimer by a yard to carry off the clock.

Three hundred entrants competed in the athletic meeting proper. The 100-yard sprint was contested for the Manningham Football Club Challenge Vase, a handsome affair worth £55. The winner of the two-mile race won the equally handsome Manningham Football Club Trophy, worth £45. Other events included a one-mile bicycle race.

The clubs annual meeting heard sobering news that gate receipts were down £500 on the previous season. Though the big frost in January was partly to blame, the main reason was the Cup where Manningham played the majority of the ties away from home. Indeed, the Cup alone accounted for £300 of the downturn. Nearly £400 had been spent improving the Manningham End resulting in a loss of £395 3s 4d on the season. However, £149 13s 11d was at hand. The general feeling was optimistic, Manningham were after all established as a leading club. With Valley Parade capable of holding 20,000 the future seemed bright.

However, the rumbling feud between the northern clubs and the English Rugby Union was about to explode in dramatic fashion. Manningham were destined to be at its centre.

Chapter One: Genesis (1872-80)

Chapter Two: Carlisle Road (1880-86)

Chapter Three: Valley Parade's first season (1886-87)

Chapter Four: Death On The Midland Road (1887-9)

Chapter Five: For Club and Country (1889-90)

Chapter Six: Trouble At The Mill (1890-91)

Chapter Seven: Football Begins to Cast Its Shadow (1891-92)

Chapter Eight: Semi-Finalists and League Pioneers (1892-93)

Chapter Nine: Champions! (1893-94)

Chapter Eleven: Champions of the Rugby League (1895-96)

Chapter Twelve: Death of a Hero (1896-97)

Chapter Thirteen: Dark Clouds Gather (1897-98)

Chapter Fourteen: Financial Woes (1898-99)

Chapter Fifteen: The Price of Prudence (1899 -1900)

Chapter Sixteen: Football's Inexorable Rise (1900 -1901)

Chapter Seventeen: Breakaway Threatens the Future (1901 -1902)

Chapter Eighteen: The Metamorphosis of Manningham (1902-03)

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